The present invention relates generally to training or practice equipment for baseball pitchers of all ages. More particularly, the present invention relates to a solid single ramped portable pitching mound for use indoors or outdoors that has a height adjustment capability and wheel connection capability for easy transport.
When practicing baseball pitching, it is important for the player to be able to simulate the conditions normally faced in game situations. This allows the player to be “comfortable” when the game situation is forthcoming. Official Baseball regulations dictate the required height of a mound depending on the League and these rules are subject to change. Generally, the height requirements of the mound change when a player reaches a certain league. By way of example, the current rules dictate that Little League players (who are generally 12 years old and younger) are to pitch from a mound that is six inches high and after Little League (for players 13 years old and up) the mound height rules dictate a ten inch height. It is therefore, extremely important that a practice pitching mound have a height adjusting capability in order to correctly simulate the exact height requirement of the mound in order to accommodate players of all Leagues and ages.
In addition, weather prevents actual outdoor field practice on occasion. Therefore, a portable pitching mound that can be used indoors becomes necessary. In addition, many outdoor fields or yards do not have a “regulation bull pen” mound for the pitchers to warm-up on and therefore, need an outdoor portable pitching mound.
Prior art workers have devised many different types of portable pitching mounds. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,843,739, 5,707,305, 5,213,323 and 5,058,889. For the most part such mounds have multiple sections with collapsible, interlocking, or detachable parts and do not have any Height adjustment mechanisms. Only U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,739 has a height adjustment mechanism but even it is on a unit that has a “collapsible ramp” constructed of multiple individual ramp sections and it does not have any wheel connections for portability. As a matter of fact, none of these other mounds have any wheels for portability.